CA2433252C - Personal harness for carrying packs - Google Patents

Abstract

Equipment that enables people to carry substantial pack loads have the problems that the body is under load from the shoulders down and packs bearing against the body prevent evaporation of perspiration which generates discomfort and fatigue. An eccentric backpack load exacerbates these problems. The subject invention is a wearable harness that transfers pack loads directly to the person's hips, bypassing the shoulders and upper body. An over-the -shoulder, inverted "U" beam structure has attachment points for back and front packs and maintains a ventilation space beneath both. Balanced front and back packs can eliminate load eccentricity. Each beam is supported at the bottom (front and back) by a wide belt that goes over the hip. The harness is kept in place circumferentially at the waist by an ordinary belt around the waist. A distinctive hip is a significant advantage; therefore, the invention is applicable mostly to women. Packs having lateral strength and stiffness bridge across the "U" beam structure leaving a ventilation path between the pack(s) and the body to allow body cooling.

Description

Specification This invention provides to a man or a woman a personal harness that facilitates the carrying of luggage packs on his/her back and front and is therefore called a"Personal Harness for Carrying Packs".
Commercial packs intended for carrying on the back or front of a person have wide straps for placing the load on the shoulders. The comparatively heavy back packs for hiking usually come with a belt that is wide at the hips and back and include a flexible foam base for transferring most of the load from the pack to the hips. The pack often includes an interior or exterior frame to convey the load to the belt. The configuration of these back pack devices inevitably results in serious work and discomfort in carrying heavy back packs for a long time. The first reason is that such packs load a person's body eccentrically from the back, causing the person to bend forward to compensate, which puts considerable load onto the back instead of the hips.
Secondly, the pack bears upon the back, preventing evaporation of perspiration. Because of the stress placed on the upper body by heavy packs, women are especially burdened. The subject invention overcomes these disadvantages through the use of substantially rigid, inverted "U"
shaped. beams that go above the shoulders of the wearer, down the front and back of the body and have attachment points for both front and back packs. These can be balanced to bring the center of gravity of the total load to the middle of the body, over the person's legs. When carrying such front and back packs the person walks upright. In addition, the packs mount on the beams, leaving some space for ventilation between the pack and the person's body. This is especially important when carrying packs on both front and back because military tests have shown that rejection of body heat is significantly impaired, which generates discomfort and fatigue.
The loads from the beams are transferred directly to the tops of the hips by means of a wide belt, e.g., 2 inch, that connects to a load beam at the front and goes over the top of the hip, making a significant angle (>10 deg) to the vertical and connecting to the same beam at the back. Similarly on the other side of the body. A standard belt around the waist initially holds the apparatus in place, permitting adjustments if necessary, and aids in limiting slippage up or down the body. The I

beam structure, which does not touch the shoulders, plus the special waistband, effectively transfer all of the pack load to the hips, leaving the upper body unstressed and remote from the packs. It should therefore be practical for a woman to carry similar pack loads as a man.

The invention also lends itself to the addition of a horizontal beam spanning the inverted "U"
beams at the front and having a receptacle cup for the butt of a rifle so that this invention can be used by soldiers and hunters. The cup and beam structure can ameliorate the recoil from the gun by spreading its effect through bending of the crossbeam and vertical beams, by transferring momentum to the mass of the packs carried, and by compression of clothing, etc.
There are 11 drawings illustrating 16 numbered parts in this embodiment of the invention plus two sketches as an aid in discussing underlying theory.

Fig. 1 is an approximately 1/4 size three dimensional view of the entire harness.
Fig. 2- 4 are approximately '/2 size and are described as follows.
Fig.2- side view of one over-the-shoulder beam (1) on the right side.
Fig.3- downward view of the front plate (3) that stabilizes the two vertical beams (1) at the front.
Fig.4- Section I-I view of the front plate (3) on Fig.3 Fig. 5- 7 are approximately full size illustrations showing:
Fig.5- tubular receiver (7) for the bottom of the vertical beam (1), and the lower bracket (12) for connection to the belts (18 and 20). Front right assembly is shown, including the closing attachment for front plate (3).

Fig.6- Section II - II view of latch mechanism in Fig.5 Fig.7- frontal view (section III-III) of lower bracket (12) in Fig.5 and connecting links 13 & 19 Fig.8- is an approx. '/4 size view of load belt (20) on the right side. Left side is mirror image Fig. 9-11 are approximately 1/2 size illustrations showing:
Fig.9- frontal view of the gun support structure.
Fig.10- side view from the right of the gun support structure.
Fig.l 1- section V-V from Fig.9 Fig.12 & 13 are not to scale. They are for support of discussion and do not depict the invention.
Fig. 12- force diagram to support explanation of forces acting on the body from the load belt.
Fig. 13- force diagram to support explanation of forces acting on the body from the cincture belt.

Figures 1& 2 show round cross-section aluminum tube, bent in 2 places, for the over-the-shoulder load beams 1, but other cross sections, materials and bend configuration could be made to work. A
front pack can be attached to the load beams 1 if it is constructed with a matching ring (not shown) that goes over the attachment hook, with straps or elastic cords from the pack going around the beams and secured back at the pack, e.g., by Velcro or hook. The load beams 1 have similar connectors on the backs of the load beams 1, to be utilized in the same way for a back pack. The front plate 3, when connected shut at the right side, prevents relative motion of the load beams 1 in the plane of the plate, thereby bringing basic stability to the load structure. The plate could also fulfill this purpose if placed at the back. The front plate also makes a rigid link at the front for balancing the high horizontal force components from the sides. In addition, the large bearing area of the plate against the body enables the fore-aft component of tension force in belt 20 to be borne comfortably at the soft front of the body.
Referring to Fig.3 & 4, the front plate 3 is hinged at the left side to tube receiver 7 by Part 24 and fastens at the right side by connector 25 and retractable pins 14 (See Fig.5 &
6). There are several holes in connector 25 to permit adjustment of width. The retractable pins are housed in simple bearings of common commercial design and kept aligned in a common link such as the channel shown. This sub-structure is secured to tube 7 by such conventional means as the metal straps shown (17).
The load beams 1 transfer their loads to the load belts 20 via receiver tubes 7 into which the beams telescope (Fig.5), and lower bracket 12 where short link 13 encircles tube 7 at one end and passes through the hole in the load belt end connector 19 at the other. Link 13 can be made from a link of decorative chain. The receiver tube 7 allows adjustability to the length of the torso and once fitted, the set screw is hand tightened by the knob and driven through collar 8 and receiver tube 7 into load tube 1, as illustrated in Fig. l& 5. Receiver tube 7 is secured to bracket 12 by flange-ended insert 9 and transmits down load by pushing chain link 13 downward, which pulls load belt 20 taut over the top of the hip.
The arrangement of the load belt 20 is shown in Fig.8 and there is one on each side of the body. It connects to link 13 at the back and goes over the top of the hip and connects to link 13 at the front.
At the top of the hip it must have a substantial horizontal orientation so that the pressure from the hip onto the belt has enough vertical component to counteract the vertical loads from the packs.
Therefore, it must make an angle of at least 10 deg. and preferably over 20 deg. to the vertical.
Such distinct configuration of the hip is common with women but not with men.
Consequently, it can be expected that this invention will be much more applicable to women.
Indeed, by bypassing the upper body when supporting loaded packs, the personal harness will enable women to carry similar loads as a man.
With the first-time use of the harness the person determines the best separation of the load beams 1 by trying the various settings for this at the front plate (there are three shown in this embodiment).
The best is when the beams are sufficiently inboard to optimize the position of the load belt 20 over the hips while not making contact with the neck under any maneuver, nor interfering with head movement. The waist part of the apparatus is positioned below the top of the hip and kept in place by doing up the cincture belt 18. The load beams 1 should be moved along the cincture belt 18 until they are centered on the spine. Then the thumb bolts I 1 should be tightened to fix the lower bracket 12 on the cincture belt 18. Similarly, at the front, these thumb bolts should be tightened. The load belts 20 should be positioned over the hips and tightened snugly using the trench coat buckles 21. The load beams 1 should be adjusted in their receiver tubes 7 so that the beams are two fingers width above the tops of the shoulders. The set screws at the tops of the receiver tubes 7 are then manually tightened to fix this setting. All these settings should then be good for subsequent wearing by the same person wearing clothing of similar bulk.

The packs must be designed for the hook design on the load beams and may require an internal, horizontal beam to fix the separation of the load beams at the attachment.
Also, the hook design may be changed to suit the attachment mechanism on the pack. An attachment device could be added near the bottom of the load beams 1 or the receiver tubes 7 for attaching packs. Padding could be added under the load belt for a commercial design.

The gun butt support structure 5, shown in Fig.9 - 11, is first pushed through the clips on the left side load beam and then pushed over the right side beam 1 so that the bent plate embraces it. This structure, which includes the rifle receptacle cup 6, must be removed before the harness can be removed from the body.

Prior art that comes closest to the subject invention is WIPO application WO
01/22847 by A.R.
Moreno (2001 April) and United States patent 796,589 of A. Maloney (1905 August).
The invention of Moreno differs in the following regards. That invention employs a closed "substantially rigid" rod that goes over the shoulder and against the side of the wearer to bring vertical load from a pack to a single point on the wearer's hip. It appears that only the top part of the rod is available for hanging packs. Therefore, the rod configuration cannot maintain a ventilation route under the packs.
The subject invention (no.2433252) places the load on the wearer's hip by a wide belt that is tensioned by the loads from one rail I connecting at the front and back. This belt spreads the load over a much wider area at the top of the hip. The benefit of this is evident from the force analysis at the hip. Fig. 12 shows the vertical load P from packs being resolved into a force Pn that acts normal to the hip and is reacted by pressure from the body to load belt 20. It also shows horizontal force Ph that acts on belt 20. The angle theta is the angle between the body and the vertical and has a profound effect on the magnitude of forces Pn and Ph. For a heavy pack load of 60 lbs and theta of 10 degrees, representing a man with a somewhat distinct hip, then Pn = 173 lbs and Ph = 170 ii3S. 'i'-scy aopiv to both hips. 'I'he prior art' invention of Moreno applies force Pn by the steel ring part of the eye bolt through a flexible leather pad. Pressure on the wearer's skin and hip bone will be correspondingly high in that area. Inasmuch as this local pressure on the hip is the limiting factor in weight that can be carried, the invention of Moreno has much lower capacity than the subject invention (no.2433252).
In the invention of Moreno the horizontal force Ph acting on the cincture belt is likely to pull it into the soft front of the body, as indicated in Fig. 13, which would cause slippage of the leather pad down the hip. In the subject invention (no.2433252) the front plate has a comparatively large area for transmitting that force.
The invention of Maloney (US patent 796,589) differs in the following regards.

(a) It has one over-the-shoulder rigid wire for the purpose of carrying a bag suspended from the shoulder at the side of the body. The subject invention (no.2433252) has two over-the-shoulder tubes for the purpose of carrying a heavy front and/or back pack centrally located on the torso.

(b) The Maloney inverted rigid wire is allowed to come down on the shoulder when carrying load whereas the subject invention (no.2433252) is designed not to come down on the shoulder and to carry all the load to the waist level.
(c) With the Maloney invention ventilation of the body for heat removal is not an issue. The subject invention (no.2433252) solves the problem of overheating when carrying packs on both the front and back of the body.

(d) The Maloney invention does not have a feature for spreading the load over a large area of the hip. As discussed previously for the Moreno invention, the load on the hip for heavy load on the "U" beam is large. This suggests that the Maloney invention can only bear comparatively light loads. In the subject invention (no.2433252) the load spreading belt system on the hip is an essential feature of the invention and provides the harness with the capability to carry the heavy pack loads of soldiers and long distance hikers.

Claims (4)

1. A harness that is worn by a person to alleviate the stress and discomfort of carrying packs, such harness consisting of inverted "U" beams (1) going over the shoulders of the wearer and vertically oriented, so as to provide a base at the back and front of the torso for attaching packs, and connecting to the ends of flexible load belts, one on each side of the body, such that each belt is tensioned by the load from its attaching beam (1) and thereby transfers that load to an area of the hip where there is enough horizontal orientation to provide an upward pressure load equal to the vertical load from the packs.

2. The harness of Claim I wherein relative movement of the inverted "U" beams, such as up-down movement in the vertical plane, or rotation about fore-aft axes at the waist level where they are supported, is prevented by a connecting plate (3) having sufficient in-plane strength and rigidity, between the inverted "U" beams (1).

3. The harness of Claim 1 having attachment hooks or loops on the inverted "U"
beams (1) for mounting onto them at the front and/or back of the wearer luggage pack(s) that have sufficient transverse strength and rigidity to bridge the inverted "U" beams, thereby leaving a ventilation path between the pack(s) and the wearer's body to facilitate the rejection of heat from the body.

4. The harness of Claim 1 having an accessory comprised of an essentially horizontal beam (5) that attaches to the inverted "U" beams (1), wherein the horizontal beam (5) incorporates a suitably constructed trough (6) in front of the wearer's shoulder for accepting the butt of a rifle and absorbing the recoil when it is fired by transferring the force to the inverted "U" (1).